IT was left to a departing Scarlets fan to best sum up his side’s afternoon.

“If we’d been playing a team like Cardiff Blues we’d have had a hiding,” he said, as he trooped towards the exit.

Whatever you make of the observation, it was an indication that relief rather than unbridled joy was the overwhelming emotion among the home fans having watched Nigel Davies’ side snatch victory at the death.

The way Sean Lamont crossed for the match-winning score seven minutes into added time might have put supporters in mind of Wales’ incredible comeback against Scotland in last season’s Six Nations.

That day Shane Williams was the hero, diving over the line after the Scots, down to 13 men, simply ran out of defenders.

At least Connacht did have one extra on the pitch, 14 to be precise, after replacement prop Ronan Loughney had been sin-binned for kicking the ball out of an attacking Scarlets ruck.

However, other than the fact it was a triumph for never giving up, for hammering away right to the very last, there was little that you could call heroic about the frantic nature of the finish.

Dramatic it certainly was, exciting yes, but nothing can mask the shortcomings of a home side that made such hard work of dispatching a team they thumped 58-10 at the same venue back in April.

The Scarlets played the vast majority of the rugby, but that just meant they made the vast majority of the mistakes, their profligacy triggering groans of exasperation from supporters in the main stand.

They would have known that if Davies is to engineer an improvement on last term’s dismal league placing, then this fixture simply had to be taken care of.

And, with a reverse to Treviso already in the results column, and Italians Aironi due to visit next week followed by a trip to the Dragons, the Scarlets will probably feel they need to be comfortably in double figures point-wise by the time they leave Rodney Parade.

That’s because, on this evidence, the Leinsters, Munsters, Ospreys and, yes, Blues of this world, are going to punish them.

Yet, as Davies pointed out afterwards, the outlook is far from all bad.

The Scarlets at least showed huge amounts of hunger and desire and they dictated the territory, possession and tempo for long spells.

There was also the small matter of them actually winning, with a bonus point to boot.

Davies talked about how the agonising late defeat to Munster last season had been a big psychological blow that had dragged them down for the run-in.

You can only hope that this outcome can have a similar effect on the group in the opposite direction.

“We need to improve, but it’s easier to work on things when you have won,” said Davies. Nobody could argue with that.

The Scarlets are likely to have Aussie No 8 David Lyons back in harness for the visit of Aironi and, if they can make those improvements and claim another maximum points haul, then you would hope some momentum may start to build west of the Lougher Bridge.

The one area of the Scarlets team that should hold its own against any opposition is the backline.

Stephen Jones was back pulling the strings in this one and centres Jonathan Davies and Regan King claimed three tries between them, despite the fact Davies’ passing radar appeared to be on the blink at times.

There are two internationals in Martin Roberts and Tavis Knoyle to choose from at scrum-half and in 18-year-old wing George North the Scarlets have potentially one of the finds of the season.

North didn’t produce the try-scoring exploits he managed in Treviso because he was well policed by the Connacht defence, but his strong-running enthusiasm may yet lead to international recognition before the season is out.

However, it was the man in direct opposition to North, Irish flier Fionn Carr, who stole the show.

The blond-haired speedster grabbed all three of his side’s tries, all of which were beautifully-crafted and clinically finished.

And, it was his second effort which told the tale of the game better than any, coming as it did from an unforced Scarlets midfield error that ended with Carr scooting away for a 60-metre touchdown that should never have come his way.

But it was indicative of the lesson Connacht gave their hosts in taking chances.

Had the hosts showed similar ruthlessness they would have been out of sight far earlier.

Instead, when Carr got his hat-trick score in the 68th minute and the metronomic Keatley duly converted, the Irish province looked favourites to take the spoils leading as they did 30-23.

As Davies pointed out later, though, the Scarlets seemed to show more composure as the heat came on them than they had done earlier in the match.

Davies’ second try hauled them back level and, although Keatley had home hearts fluttering after landing a fourth penalty, Lamont’s late intervention ensured a happy ending.

The Scarlets camp – coach Davies and players – talked about a week of hard work in the aftermath, and the fruits of that need to be on show against Aironi if a few more fingernails are to remain intact.